'Resistance is not futile': Red Hen owner says booting Sarah Sanders was great for business

People in Lexington, Virginia give their opinion after the owner of the "Red Hen" in Lexington asked Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave.
Camille Fine, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – The owner of a small eatery in Virginia, which gained national attention last summer for kicking out White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, says she remains proud of that decision.

In fact, booting Sanders from the establishment has been great for business, claims Stephanie Wilkinson, the owner of the Red Hen in Lexington, in a Washington Post op-ed published Tuesday.

Wilkinson said she was flooded with emails, letters and packages after the story of her encounter with Sanders went viral, many of them full of anger and wishes "that our business die a painful death."

"After nearly a year, I’m happy to say that business is still good. Better than good, actually," Wilkinson said.

"Our haters may have believed that there were more of 'them' than of 'us,' but it turns out we have more than enough to keep us cooking. And to everyone who might be fearful about taking a stand, I say don’t be. Resistance is not futile, for you or your business," she wrote.

Wilkinson explained that when Sanders entered her restaurant, "the country was in turmoil" over the separations of migrant families at the southern border .

"In our tiny 26-seat restaurant, the horror felt simultaneously immediate and far away," she wrote. "Faced with the prospect of serving a fine meal to a person whose actions in the service of our country we felt violated basic standards of humanity, we balked. We couldn’t do it."

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Members of Patriot Picket, an organization that supports the second amendment, demonstrate outside of the Red Hen Restaurant on the day of it's re-opening in Lexington, Va. After White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was unceremoniously evicted on June 22, 2018, from the Virginia restaurant, it closed its doors for weeks. CAMILLE FINE/USA TODAY

Jeff Hulbert, demonstrates, Thursday, outside of the Red Hen in Lexington, Va. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was unceremoniously evicted on June 22, 2018 from the Virginia restaurant, because of her work with President Donald Trump. CAMILLE FINE/USA TODAY

Arlene White, a frequent customer of the restaurant, speaks to demonstrators outside of the Red Hen on the day of it's re-opening. White attempted to get a reservation, to no avail, at the restaurant after Sarah Huckabee Sanders was evicted on June 22, 2018. The restaurant closed for weeks as the divisive debate over "zero tolerance" immigration policy and other issues spill into the everyday lives of the people who promote them. CAMILLE FINE/USA TODAY

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She said that she asked Sanders to leave, and the White House spokesperson left without a fuss, "or even much surprise." She assumed that was the end of it.

"When I awoke the next morning, social media was on fire. The incident had gone from a Facebook post to a tagged tweet to nationally trending news with the whoosh of lighter fluid to a flame," she said.

President Donald Trump slammed the "dirty" restaurant on Twitter. Wilkinson said she and her staff were "doxxed" and threatened. "Protesters colonized the streets around the restaurant," she said. And the hate mail started piling up.

The Red Hen Restaurant should focus more on cleaning its filthy canopies, doors and windows (badly needs a paint job) rather than refusing to serve a fine person like Sarah Huckabee Sanders. I always had a rule, if a restaurant is dirty on the outside, it is dirty on the inside!

But she found that for "every hateful message, there was one of gratitude" and "for every wish that our business die a painful death, there was a dollar bill or a generous check or an order for a gift certificate."

When the restaurant re-opened after a 10-day hiatus, customers poured in, including travelers who went out of their way to visit her restaurant. She also said supporters sent donations in the Red Hen's honor to the local food pantry, domestic violence center and first responders.

"And besides the boost to our area charities, our town’s hospitality and sales revenue have gone up, too," she added.

A driver passes by Trump supporters protesting outside of the Red Hen restaurant. The driver stopped in the street to ask, "How is this any different than the Masterpiece v. Cakeshop court case?" Camille Fine, USAT